John Kerry says US drone strikes in Pakistan could end 'very soon'

Drone strikes against terrorist targets in Pakistan could end "very soon",
according to John Kerry, the American Secretary of State, who is visiting
the country on a charm offensive designed to reset fraught relations.

John Kerry, the US Secretary of State, invited Pakistan’s prime minister Nawaz Sharif to talks with President Barack ObamaPhoto: AP

He made the comments after talks with Pakistan’s new government led by Nawaz Sharif.

The two countries agreed to upgrade ties dominated in recent years by rows over drone strikes and terrorism, and Mr Kerry also invited the Pakistani prime minister to Washington for talks with President Barack Obama

In an interview with Pakistani state TV, Mr Kerry said both he and the president saw a time when the drone strikes would end - the first time such a senior figure has discussed how the attacks might finish.

"I think the programme will end as we have eliminated most of the threat and continue to eliminate it," he said.

Asked when that might be, Mr Kerry added: "The president has a very real timeline and we hope it's going to be very, very soon."

The comments will be well-received in Pakistan where there is widespread opposition to the covert CIA operation, which is seen as an infringement of the country's sovereignty.

Earlier the two countries had announced the resumption of their strategic dialogue, which had been stalled for two years during a spate of diplomatic rows.

“We are here to speak honestly with each other, openly about any gaps that may exist that we want to try to bridge,” said Mr Kerry during a press conference. “Our people deserve that we talk directly.”

However, he swatted aside criticism of drone strikes pointing out that Ayman al-Zawahiri, al-Qaeda leader, remained in Pakistan and that the US remained committed to dismantling networks of “violent extremists”.

The US and Pakistan have made awkward bedfellows since being thrown together in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Washington has long urged Islamabad to do more to rein in militants who launch cross-border attacks against its troops in Afghanistan. Senior American officers have frequently accused Islamabad of backing the Taliban and the related Haqqani network.

Keeping Pakistan on side is crucial to the US draw-down in Afghanistan. Washington needs help to coax the Taliban to the negotiating table, support to secure the Afghan border and access to the port of Karachi to ship tens of thousands of tons of gear home.

Both sides signalled they were keen to start afresh with a new government in Islamabad.

Mr Kerry said neither country wanted a purely transactional relationship based on counter-terrorism.

“What was important today was that there was a determination...to move this relationship to the full partnership that it ought to be, and to find the ways to deal with individual issues that have been irritants over the course of the past years,” he said.

Sartaj Aziz, Mr Sharif's adviser on foreign affairs, said Pakistan still wanted an end to drone strikes.

But Mr Kerry said it was wrong to focus of perceived violations of Pakistan’s sovereignty.

“An al-Qaeda leader like Al-Zawahiri is violating the sovereignty of this country. And when they attack people in mosques and blow up people in villages and market places they are violating the sovereignty of the country,” he said.